Except for silver, precious metals declined in the mid-week session and start to the new trading month on Wednesday.
Gold for December delivery shed $2.10, or 0.1%, to settle at $1,816 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Metals traders are seeking the next significant fundamental input, which will likely be Friday morning’s U.S. jobs report.," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
"The first trading day of September saw a busy slate of U.S. economic data released, highlighted by the monthly ADP national employment report for August, which was a miss to the downside, showing a rise of 374,000 jobs, when it was expected to show a gain of 600,000," Wyckoff added.
Gold prices ranged from a low of $1,810.60 to a high of $1,822.70. They rose 0.3% on Tuesday, marking an August increase of 0.05%, and they dipped 0.4% on Monday.
Silver for December delivery rose 21.5 cents, or 0.9%, to close at $24.221 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $23.77 and $24.33. They ended unchanged Tuesday, registering a 6% monthly decline, and they — like gold — slipped 0.4% on Monday.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
-
October platinum fell $14.50, or 1.4%, to $999.60 an ounce, ranging from $993.80 to $1,015.30.
- Palladium for December delivery fell $29.50, or 1.2%, to $2,441.50 an ounce, trading between $2,424 and $2,495.50.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2021
Published United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged Wednesday. Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold during varying periods.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday / September | Last Week | This Week | June | July | August | 2021 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 17,000 | 11,500 | 158,000 | 49,500 | 112,000 | 746,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15,000 | 10,000 | 21,000 | 77,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 6,000 | 28,000 | 30,000 | 0 | 34,000 | 120,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 10,000 | 0 | 90,000 | 40,000 | 50,000 | 330,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 4,500 | 4,500 | 27,500 | 14,500 | 27,500 | 235,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 775,000 | 750,000 | 2,800,000 | 3,104,000 | 3,930,000 | 22,940,500 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 75,000 |
| Tuskegee Airmen 5 oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 52,900 |
